The present invention relates to an ESD protection device, and particularly to a low capacitance ESD protection device and a manufacturing method thereof applicable to RF circuits.
In recent years, extensive research has been carried out on the possibility of using pure CMOS, rather than bipolar or BiCMOS technologies, for RF applications. It is forecasted that by 2003, a large number of applications will use CMOS technology for RF system-on-chip, such as remote control, radio modems, home system automation, etc. For example, in the home system automation, the concept is to replace the data cable between appliances by wireless link centered at 2.4 GHz, with a range of approximately 8 m. The reliability of the components used in these applications is therefore obviously very important.
One of the major bottlenecks for the transition from bipolar/BiCMOS to pure CMOS is the immunity of the circuits against Electro-Static Discharge (ESD). The detrimental effects of ESD in sub-micron devices have been widely known and reported. Further, the use of pure CMOS imposes a greater demand for adequate protection circuitry against ESD, due to the greater sensitivity of CMOS for electrical overstress in general and ESD in particular. RF circuits typically require a high performance and have tight design specifications. The conventional approach to achieve higher device ESD robustness is to incorporate on-chip ESD protection networks, as well as, in many cases external protection elements. As shown in FIG. 1, the standard approach to on-chip ESD protection involves incorporating protection at inputs, outputs, which consist of elements such as diodes, nMOSFETs, etc., provide a known current path to the ESD pulse away from the core circuitry. In the classical sub-micron CMOS technology devices, this common approach could yield enough ESD robustness if the protection circuits are implemented properly.
FIG. 1˜3 are diagrams respectively showing three conventional ESD protection devices for CMOS, which are disclosed in “ESD Reliability Issues in RF CMOS Circuits”, M. K. Radhakrishnam, V. Vassilev, B. Keppens, V. De Heyn, M. Natarajan, and G. Groeseneken.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-section of a ggnMOS (gate grounded nMOS) used for ESD protection. It includes a p substrate 11, isolation layer 12, n source and drain regions 131 and 132, p doped region 14, and a gate 15. The p doped region 14 couples the p substrate 11 to a cathode. The source region 131 and gate 14 are also coupled to the cathode. The drain region 132 is coupled to an anode.
FIG. 2 show a cross-section of an oxide-isolated diode used for ESD protection. It includes a p substrate 21, oxide layer 22, a n or p well 23, n doped region 241 and p doped region 242 in the well 23, and poly-silicon layer 25. The p doped region 242 and n doped region 241 are respectively the cathode and anode of the diode.
FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of a LVTSCR (low voltage triggered silicon controlled rectifier) used for ESD protection. It includes a p substrate 31, isolation layer 32, a transistor formed by an n source region 331, n drain region 332 and gate 34, p doped region 35, a n well 36, and n doped region 371 and p doped region 372 in the n well 36. The gate 34, source region 331 and p doped region 35 are coupled to the cathode while the n doped region 371 and n doped region 372 are coupled to the anode.
The previously described ESD protection devices provide ESD path between their cathode and anode. The cathode and anode may be coupled to power lines or I/O pads.
However, for RF applications, the parasitic capacitance and the series resistance of the ESD protection structure directly impacts the RF performance. For example, an unaccounted parasitic capacitance of 1 pF from an ESD protection network or device at 2.4 GHz corresponds to a load of 66 Ohms. It is important to note that the typical input pin capacitance specification for a Low Noise Amplifier used in the 1–5 GHz is less than 100 fF.
Obviously, it degrades the performance of the RF circuits if the conventional ESD protection devices for pure CMOS are applied.